Construction unions might think they caught a break last week with top Wisconsin lawmakers’ decision to take a proposal to repeal the state’s remaining prevailing-wage laws out of the state budget. But the reprieve is not likely to last long.

State Rep. Rob Hutton's attempt to ensure "the importance of providing a neutral and competitive playing field" by prohibiting the use of project-labor agreements on taxpayer-funded projects flies in the face of the realities of today’s construction industry, and is a direct affront to the wishes and desires of the American electorate during the recent election.

State agencies would have to give the governor plans for cutting spending or maintaining it at current levels along with their biennial budget requests under a bill two Republican lawmakers are trying to push through the Legislature.